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Friday, September 13, 2013

REVIEW | The White Brick Kitchen - a lovely Brunch in the midst of Toronto's Koreatown

Brunch on the weekends is a welcome treat when you work a
9-5 job Monday to Friday. However, living west and traveling east on a weekend can be a
little tiresome because it feels like a day of commute for me. The thought of trying out The White Brick Kitchen
in Korea town was tempting enough for me to finally make that trek.

The White Brick Kitchen is located on the corner of Bloor St and Euclid Ave. There’s
a green P parking lot a street away so parking wasn’t too difficult (already
made my day so much better). You
definitely won’t miss the white and black sign they have. There is a bit of
construction going on in the front this summer but don’t let that scare you away, they are
definitely open!

We got there around 11:30 and there were still a few tables
available but by the time we left at 12:30 there was a line waiting so
early bird definitely gets the worm!

Scotch eggs are so intriguing to me and I’ve never had one so when
I saw the Scotch-ish eggs ($10) on the menu, I knew I had to try it. It comes
with two panko fried soft boiled eggs, hollandaise greens, a baguette and
potatoes. I guess the reason it’s called Scotch-ish eggs is because it doesn’t
have the usual sausage meat surrounding the egg and it's soft boiled.

When
you cut into the egg the yolk just spilled out. The panko crumbs added the
perfect crunch to the soft texture of the egg. The runny egg yolk went
perfectly with the baguette. The potatoes were seasoned very well and as my
sister puts it “you don’t even need ketchup to eat the potatoes”.

We ordered the Swiss Mushroom Melt Sandwich ($13) based on a
recommendation from a friend. The sandwich portion is very big and it could
have easily been shared between two people. The bread was grilled and tasted
like a grilled cheese with the mushrooms in the middle. The thick bread
absorbed the sauce from the mushrooms and made the bread so savoury. Again, I
would recommend sharing this dish or if having it alone I wish the bread was a
bit thinner because it was very filling.

What’s weekend brunch without a little bacon? Not really a
meal at all so I had to order the Beef Bacon Hash ($12). This dish included
house cured beef bacon and potato hash, with sausage gravy, two poached eggs
and a baguette.The presentation was
done very well and made it easy to eat together. The bacon and potato hash
tasted like creamy mashed potatoes (my fave). The hash and poached eggs went
well with the baguette as the crunch from the bread complimented the sauce and potato hash. Although
the flavours were there, the hash and sausage was too salty for my liking. It
might have been from the bacon or the seasoning in the gravy but it made me
very thirsty.

The Blueberry Cheese Cake Waffle ($10) sounded very enticing
as well. It’s a vanilla waffle with blueberry compote, cream cheese icing and
house cured beef bacon. Don’t let the name fool you, there isn’t actual
cheesecake in the dish as we had originally thought. The waffle is made with
components of a cheesecake. The waffle was very light and airy but it was
enough to fill me up. The blueberry compote added a nice touch without going
overboard on the sweet factor. The beef bacon was an interesting addition. It
was my first time trying beef bacon and it reminded me of beef jerky as it was drier
than the regular crispy pork bacon. The bacon was a bit salty to eat on its own
and hard to eat with the waffle. Overall, I left the White Brick Kitchen happy with my meal. For the price, it was of tremendous value. Don't forget to head there a little earlier on the weekends to avoid the brunch rush at noon!